Stargazers should have their eyes fixed on the skies, as astronomers say a “once-in-a-lifetime” view of an astronomical explosion is expected any night.
T Coronae Borealis, also known as the “Blaze Star,” is actually a pair of stars located 3,000 light-years away. The star system is a recurring nova, with Earth-visible explosions every 79 to 80 years, according to NASA.
The last recorded outburst from T Coronae Borealis — which includes a hot, red giant star and a cool, white dwarf star — was in 1946, according to the space agency, which forecasts it will do so again before September 2024.
The star system is located in the Northern Crown, a horseshoe-shaped curve of stars west of the Hercules constellation, according to NASA, which reports viewers can look for it in between the bright stars of Vega and Arcturus.
When the explosion comes into Earth’s view, “it’s going to be one of the brightest stars in the sky,” Louisiana State University physics and astronomy professor Bradley Schaefer, told ABC News, encouraging the public to go outside and view the explosion as soon as it’s in view.
The exact day and time of the explosion are “unknown,” according to Schaefer, but looking at the star system’s historical behavior and current “pre-eruption dip” indicate the view of the explosion is imminent.
A pre-eruption dip is a sudden decrease in brightness that some celestial objects experience about a year before erupting, according to the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), which announced T Coronae Borealis had faded in March 2023.
